Joss Whedon Talks Writing Batgirl, Casting an Unknown Actress

Joss Whedon talks writing Batgirl, casting an unknown actress

Last month brought the unexpected news that Marvel’s The Avengers writer/director Joss Whedon would bring Batgirl to the big screen in her own solo movie. Whedon dropped by the world premiere of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 last night where Variety spoke to him about the development of the project.

“I have so many things to say about her, I’m very excited to see a girl in the cowl,” Whedon said to start.

When asked about casting for the film, he replied: “I don’t have my eye on anybody. I’m creating this character, I’m in a dialogue with her and then we’ll see who joins that later on… I doubt it’ll be a name. I think this is somewhere where you go and find Batgirl and then you cast her.”

The outlet pressed him on casting a “fresh face” for the project, to which he said: “I’m not against movie stars, they’re great, but you need somebody who’s going to be just right, and a situation like this the name carries a lot of weight, so it’s not as critical.”

It’s confirmed that Whedon’s Batgirl movie will be part of the ever-evolving DC Extended Universe that includes the upcoming Wonder Woman, Justice League, Aquaman and The Batman solo film, as well as another female-centric entry in David Ayer’s Gotham City Sirens.

No other producers are attached to the Batgirl movie, though Toby Emmerich, Jon Berg and Geoff Johns will oversee the project for the studio, which apparently only came into being within the past couple of months.

Batgirl’s first comic appearance in 1967 was as Barbara Gordon, daughter of Commissioner James Gordon, and she later became an ally of Batman and Robin in Gotham City. She was previously portrayed by Yvonne Craig in the campy ’60s Batman series, then by Alicia Silverstone (as Barbara Wilson, Alfred’s niece) in the equally-campy 1997 flop Batman & Robin. She was recently voiced by Rosario Dawson in The LEGO Batman Movie.

Whedon, who had previously written a treatment for his own Wonder Woman movie a decade ago, was last said to be working on a World War II horror movie, but he has stated previously that he would like to make a Batman film.